US Department of Defense officials have tried to dispel doubts that Iran was supplying drones to Russia’s war in Ukraine by releasing photographs and scans of drones involved in the conflict to show involvement from Tehran.
During a briefing in London, Defense Intelligence Agency analysts showed photographs of drones attacking Ukraine, as well as photographs of drones previously linked to Iran.
A comparison of structural details such as the tail, nose cones and landing gear shows that the weapons used in Ukraine are “indistinguishable” from the Shahid-131 and Shahid-136 attack drones and the Mohajer-6 drones used in the Middle-East.
The demonstration of the work accomplished aims to convince governments and international organizations of Tehran’s involvement. Iran said it supplied a “small number” of drones to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine, but not after Russian troops entered Ukraine in February last year.
Available evidence suggests otherwise, a Defense Intelligence Agency official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.
“Iran is Russia’s partner in the conflict,” the official said.
